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Google recently announced that it would be rolling out changes to how-to-rich and FAQ-rich results. The changes aim to give users cleaner results and a more consistent experience when they search.
What Are Rich Results?
Google Rich Results prominently feature certain types of content and help drive extra traffic to websites. However, publishers have to create extra content and structured data to trigger rich results.
What Is Different Now?
Under the new policy, Google will only show FAQ-rich results for well-known, authoritative government and health websites. As a result, other websites that don’t meet those criteria won’t regularly see FAQ rich results.
If you don’t operate an authoritative government or health website, you can remove FAQ rich data from your website. However, you don’t have to. In fact, leaving that structured data as is won’t cause problems or have any visible effect in Google Search.
Google has also decided to stop displaying how-to rich results. At first, the company stated that the change would only apply to mobile versions of websites. Later, it issued an update that said the change would also apply to desktop versions.
Google rolled out the updates around the world, and they affect all countries and websites in all languages. Still, Google noted that you should not view these changes as a ranking change.
What Does This Mean for You?
If these updates affect you, you’ll most likely see changes when you review your website’s Google Search Console reporting. In particular, check your performance report’s metrics for FAQ and How-To search appearances. Also check the number of impressions listed in your enhancement reports. However, you shouldn’t see a difference in the number of items reported in your enhancement reports.
Get Professional Help with Your Company’s Website
It can be difficult to understand how Google’s search algorithm works. It can also be hard to see how recent changes like these affect your business. At Keyword Performance, we stay on top of updates and trends to provide our clients with the best results possible. We can explain what these recent changes mean. Then we can work with you to help your company thrive in an ever-changing landscape.
Our team can create original content for your website and update existing content. We can also suggest ways to make your website more user-friendly, increase traffic, and boost conversions. We work with companies of varying sizes in a wide array of industries. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business.
Website design choices affect how Google displays FAQ and how-to content.
Google’s SEO Starter Guide is a good companion to this article.
